The present invention relates to a windshield wiper system for motor vehicles.
Windshield wiper systems of the type under consideration include a wiper arm, which is driven to oscillate between two end positions, and an elongated wiper element lying on the windshield and displaceable radially relative to the oscillation axis during the oscillating movement in the direction of its elongation. Such a windshield wiper system has been disclosed, for example in DE-PS 22 15 307. The problem with this otherwise satisfactory conventional device is that the wiper element is relatively large and heavy, and during the single wiping stroke from one end position to the other end position four radial movements, namely two movements outwards and two movements inwards, are carried out. Thus in order to meet the requirements of the construction with domineering masses considerable expenses are involved because positive and negative accelerations of the structural components moveable in the radial direction are quite significant.
A wiper system in which the wiper element is formed of two portions has been disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,629,891. One inner portion of this wiper element is rigidly connected to the wiper arm whereas the outer portion of this element performs the radial displacement. The moveable masses as referred to the simple outer portion are in this solution somewhat smaller than those in the above described device. The problem mentioned hereinabove, however remains unsolved.